


My Only Hope

by TurkFish



Category: Harvest Moon, Harvest Moon: Animal Parade
Genre: Drama, F/M, Fluff, Long build-up, Magic, rating may bump up in the future
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-23
Updated: 2015-07-23
Packaged: 2018-04-10 19:28:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4404422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TurkFish/pseuds/TurkFish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Molly was your average, preppy, just-out-of-high-school city girl. When she moves to Castanet with her older brother, Kasey, she begins to make new friends, help with the farm work, and volunteer for mundane jobs other people can't do. But one thing she didn't expect was to get mixed up in the love life of some certain magical beings. She also didn't expect to be solving her brother's romance problems. But maybe something good will come out of it.</p><p>And after everything, all she wanted to do was flirt with the good island doctor.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. New Faces

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I wrote this fanfiction, geez...YEARS ago. Before I even knew AO3 existed. And I posted it on ffdotnet. And...it's still not finished. But I plan on finishing it.
> 
> Anyway, I know Harvest Moon fics here aren't very well liked, and the community for it here is...pretty small. But I have a fairly okay fanbase here. So maybe you guys will like it! I dunno. And maybe I'll find some new fans to the series!!
> 
> This also wanted to transfer it over here because of the thievery that tends to happen from ff. The original of this work can also be found under the name "TurkFish" on fanfictiondotnet. 
> 
> Anywho. Despite being old, this fic is pretty well written I think. So I dearly hope that you all will enjoy it!

"Oh goddess, I'm so sorry!" A young girl shouted, staring at an older boy. The girl crouched over a large, ruined field that resembled what one might see on a farm, if it weren't completely destroyed. Crop stalks were ripped here and there in spots, their contents, beans and corn and other vegetables, spilled out over the muddy soil. Puddles of dark water swamped the once dry dirt.

"I swear I didn't mean to! Th-the horse…h-he just broke loose and…I-I-"

The girl was interrupted when the boy before her uttered in a very high pitched, womanistic voice, "Molly!"

"Molly!"

\--

"Molly…"

"MOLLY!"

The girl let out a startled snort as she felt a nagging grip on her arm, which was currently shaking her from her sleep. Her chocolaty brown eyes flung open, showing them to match her messy brunette hair, and she sat straight up, only to fall backwards when a head rush fell upon her. After a few moments, she rose once more, slower, and let the person before her's outline come into focus.

A skinny, round-chested woman stood over Molly, her curled brown hair draped over one blue-colored eye as she looked down at her with a soft smile. "There you are, dear! Hurry, up! Up! Your brother is already waiting downstairs!" The woman said.

Molly gasped, jumping past the woman, out of the entangled sheets of her bed. "Oh goddess! Mom, I forgot to set my alarm, didn't I?" She gasped. She flew through her dresser's contents, which weren't much since her suitcases held most of her items, and picked out a very orange-colored outfit. She then disappeared into the bathroom down the hall.  
The girl reappeared at the bottom of her stairs a fair twenty or so minutes later. Her brown hair was now pinned in places, forming it into a round shape that outlined her soft facial features. At the bottom it curled outwards. On her body, she wore a yellow undershirt, complimented by a yellow top, and a dark orange denim skirt. Over her white leggings were a pair of knee-high leather boots, fashionable, yet practical.

Molly searched the kitchen she had arrived in, and spotted the brown-haired head of her brother, who was talking to their father. "Kasey!" She screeched, and launched forward. She was met into the embrace of her brother as he pushed himself from the table at her caterwaul.

His hair was like her and her mother's, brown and long, though it was straight and thick as well, much like their father's black hair. The siblings twirled around in an excited hug while their parents looked on from the side of the room, smiling at each other. Molly eventually pulled away from her brother and gripped his hands, jumping up and down, much like an 8-year old, despite her age, 19.

"Oh, Kasey! I'm so so sooo sorry that I woke up late! I was so excited that I could hardly fall asleep last night!" She apologized, purposefully forgetting to mention the nightmare she'd been trapped in.

Kasey grinned toothily down at Molly, ruffling her hair, to which she loudly protested with a grunt. "Don't worry sis! There's no need to hurry!" He soothed, emitting a chuckle. Kasey withdrew his hand, looking to his watch for the time. Molly nearly blurted out that they had a digital clock on the oven, since it was easier to read-at least for her-, but held herself back when Kasey spoke once more. "But…we do need to get going soon if we plan to get off the boat before dark." He murmured, tapping his watch twice before averting his gaze.

Molly bubbled with excitement once more, clapping her hands together, and nodded vigorously. With her mother, Molly disappeared upstairs to retrieve her things; two suitcases filled with outfits, a bathroom bag, and a box with several useless miscellaneous items that neither her mother nor father could convince her to leave at home. Kasey and the sibling's father helped load up the truck, and once everything was secure, Molly moved to give a large goodbye hug to her mother.

"Now dear, don't you give Kasey any trouble, you hear me? He's doing this all for you!" Molly's mother cupped her daughter's cheeks and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. "And write me lots of letters! And don't forget to call! And make sure Kasey takes care of you! And…" She paused, smiling with watery eyes. "I love you both." She murmured, grabbing Kasey's wrist from where he'd been standing a couple feet away, and hugging her two children close to her chest.

"You two are growing up to fast…have a safe trip."

\--

"Wow! Kasey! Look! Is that it?" Molly stood at the front of the boat, gripping the railing as she stared ahead, wide-eyed and mouth agape. The tap of footsteps could be heard as Kasey walked up behind his sister, along with an elderly man. Molly had come to know the man as Pascal, the captain of the ship, as well as a good friend of Kasey's.

Pascal moved to stand beside Molly, nodding to her as he tipped his hat away from his face. "Yess'm, that island there's Castanet." He murmured, his voice a scratchy, drawling tone. The island was a dark shadow, apart from the lighthouse, and Molly could only make out the shape of a tall mountain, and the light color of a sandy beach in the distance.

As they got closer, Kasey grabbed Molly's shoulders, pointing past her towards the island. "See that beach to the left?! See it?" Molly paused a moment, following his finger to see the white sand that shone brightly against the shadows that the sunset cast to the island. She nodded. "My farm's just past that!" He beamed, backing away and clapping his hands. "Oh boy! This is gonna be so exciting!" He cheered.

Pascal let out a lighthearted snort at the younger man's enthusiasm, before he lit up his pipe, one he'd been smoking earlier, when Molly boarded. The captain then turned away, heading for the doors that led to the captain's quarters. "We'll be dockin' in about 20 minutes, best get yer stuff ready." He murmured, before disappearing from sight.  
Molly and Kasey disappeared as well to find Molly's things. It took them all but 15 minutes to get it all tied together, for easier transport, and they sat on the deck once more, watching the island that seemed to grow in size. Well, Molly watched it, Kasey just watched her, shaking his head in admiration for his little sister.

It wasn't long before Pascal tooted the loud horn of the boat, and a clunk could be heard, signifying they'd docked safely. Pascal emerged from his quarters, and stood near the railing, opening the gate. Two men, an older and younger, a girl, also young, and a horse stood on the dock.

The older of the two men carefully slid a plank of wood up to touch the boat, making for a not-so-safe looking walking platform. Kasey moved ahead of Molly, tugging the majority of her things, save for her box of miscellaneous items, off with him. After timidly shaking Pascal's hand in thanks for the trip, Molly shuffled off after her brother. Her movements were suddenly shy and unsure, as if everything were finally settling in. This place was so new! Kasey moved to stand beside his sister, grabbing the box from her hands, which also freed her to look around.

She avoided her gaze from the strangers who stood on the dock, instead observing her surroundings, which weren't much. The sky had grown dark, and all that Molly could see were what the street lanterns lit up for her. A building, whose sign read "Fishery" stood directly before the group. A metal sign hung beside it's doorway, which looked to be a fish. Molly smiled to herself, it reminded her of the creative little trinkets and signs her mother had always decorated their own home with. Before she could let her mind wander in the fond memories, Molly's thoughts were interrupted by Kasey's voice.

"C'mon sis, at least say hi." He murmured in her ear, walking up behind her and patting her shoulder.

Molly finally let her gaze travel to the three people in front of her. Her cheeks immediately lit up with embarrassment, and she waved at the strangers. "Oh, sorry. Hi…my name's Molly." She said, her voice unsure, but just as loud as it usually was.

The oldest of the trio stepped forward. He wore a large, straw sunhat, that shadowed most of his face and covered his gray-looking hair, but the friendly grin he bore was blatantly visible. He donned a vest that was covered with hooks and baits of sorts. As Molly looked closer, she noticed the man's eyes were squinted to beady slits, and he had wrinkles about his square face. "Of course we know who ya are, your brother here only brags about you all the time!" He boomed, extending his hand to Molly. "My name's Ozzy! I run the fishery with my son, Paulo, and my nephew, Toby!" Molly quickly extended her own palm, and the two met in a handshake.

Ozzy stepped back as the other man stepped forward. He resembled Ozzy quite closely, with squinted eyes and a sun hat tied around his neck, but his skin was much less wrinkled, and his face was rounded more. His hair was also a gray shade, but much lighter and fuller than Ozzy's. His left hand was entwined with the girl from before's hand. The boy reached out his free hand, smiling at Molly lazily. Molly took his hand as well, unable to hide her own smile as it replaced the timid grin she'd originally sported.

"Hi there. I'm Toby, and this is Renee!" He introduced, pulling the girl forward to stand beside him.

Renee smiled and waved shyly at Molly. "Welcome to Castanet! I work with my mamma and papa at Horn Ranch! " She chimed softly with a light Southern accent. Despite her shy tone, her face was drawn up in a confident smile, and she stood straight, tilting her head to the new arrival.

Molly nodded, thankful to finally be officially welcomed. "Thank you! I hope I won't be a bother to any of you." She murmured, scratching the back of her head. "I'm very excited to be here." The three nodded to her, before Kasey finally spoke up again.

"Well, we best be off. Thanks for bringing Chalk for me, Renee." Kasey said, patting the horse that stood on the dock beside the large group. The large, white colored animal was now loaded with all of Molly's supplies, and it looked as if it were ready to move off. "Hope she wasn't any trouble?"

Renee shook her head, waving her hand. "No, no, none at all! She almost seems to listen better to me than she does you sometimes, Kasey!" She laughed, for once showing more open emotion.

Molly giggled at Renee's comment, which earned them both a harsh stare from Kasey. The two girls shared a glance of startled amusement, before smiling and laughing some more as the rest of the men stood around rolling their eyes lightheartedly. Eventually, Kasey had managed to convince Molly that it was time to head off, and the siblings, along with Renee (who apparently lived in the same direction as Kasey's farm) took their leave. After a goodbye hug and kiss between Renee and Toby. Molly soon was informed that the two were engaged.

As the trio walked, Molly and Renee chatted excitedly to each other as if they were best friends already, while Kasey walked ahead pulling Chalk by the reigns. Renee pointed out several shops along the way. Most were covered in shadow, save for the bar which emitted loud music and a place up the hill which was apparently called the Ocarina Inn. Renee promised Molly that she would give her a tour tomorrow, which satisfied Molly.


	2. Herb Hunt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Molly decides to help her dreamy Doctor Jin collect some herbs for the clinic. Of course, Molly also tends to make rash decisions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting two chapters for the first day to reel in more readers. After this I'll have a more steady posting schedule.
> 
> Enjoy!

It had been three weeks since Molly moved to Castanet. Settling had most definitely been a struggle for the young girl, but with Renee and Kasey's help she'd managed to make at least a few friends, as well as land a few pass time jobs to help her brother with funds.

Presently, Molly stood in her brother's barn alongside Renee and a woman in her mid-twenties of whom Molly had come to know as Kathy. Kathy had long blond hair, tied up in a ponytail. Her outfit could just barely be deemed appropriate for such casual outings- a low v-neck tank-top that proudly pronounced the size and shape of her breasts. Her denim jacket concealed some of the scene, but what lacked in sight up top was made up for with the short skirt she wore down below. Because of Kathy's skimpy clothing, Molly had almost been turned away right away.

But Molly had found herself drawn into Kathy's surprisingly large circle of friends. Despite her appearance, Molly had learned that her assumptions about the blond were wrong. The two had quickly bonded over the same thing Molly and Renee had bonded over, which were horses.

The three girls giggled as they huddled around Molly's brother's horse, Chalk, braiding her mane carefully. The usually grumpy mare seemed to enjoy the treatment. She seemed to enjoy the three girl's presence in general. This was good, because so far Molly had proved her only talents to be horse care and various amounts of simple volunteer work around the island. She was much too clumsy to work with the other animals, or Kasey's crops.

The girls were busy at "work" when a sudden call echoed through the doors of the barn, carrying Molly's name. The brunette excused herself from her group of friends and dashed outside, only to find herself crashing face-first into her brother's chest. With a grunt, she stepped back, rubbing her forehead.

"Oops! Sorry Kasey. What'cha need?" She chirped, tilting her head as if it added emphasis to her question. Kasey rolled his eyes at his sister, unruffling the spot in his clothing that Molly had smashed into. He quickly explained to her that the town doctor, Doctor Jin, had called for her. Molly nodded, before charging away towards the house.

Kasey's home was large with two stories, a full kitchen, three bedrooms, and a large bathroom with a bath-and-shower built in. In a way, it almost reminded Molly of home.  
The girl shook away her thoughts, remembering the task at hand, and made way for the phone. She cleared her throat and attempted to compose herself before picking up the phone and addressing the man on the line.

"Err- uh…Jin?" Smooth.

"Doctor Jin, yes. Good afternoon, Molly." The doctor greeted in his usual, uninterested monotone. Despite his rather blunt correction to Molly's mistake in addressing him, she found herself smiling, twirling the phone cord around her finger.  
It was no unknown fact that Molly had a massive crush on the doctor. Even Jin himself was aware of her feelings. But Jin blatantly reflected nothing back, as it was also a known fact that the doctor was already dating someone. A farmer named Anissa. 'Besides', he would always say when questioned, 'She's far too young.'

"Y-yeah. Sorry, J-… Doctor Jin." She stumbled. The girl tried to stand up straighter, hiding her blush from no one in particular. "W-what did you need?"

Jin cleared his throat pointedly on the other side of the line. "Yes, about that. Molly, I've heard rumors that you're good at scavenging. Is that correct?" When he received a grunt of confirmation from Molly, he continued. "Ah, yes, good, good. My supplier, you know Anissa," Molly flinched at the brightened tone he used as he mentioned the girl's name, "her and her family are going out of town for a few days, meaning I won't be able to get my shipment of herbs for the next week." He paused for a moment to let Molly take in what he'd said, before continuing.

"I'm aware that your brother Kasey doesn't grow the plants that I need, but I do know that it's possible to find what I need in the wild." Molly smiled, holding back a squeal. Was Jin asking _her_ for help?!

She tried to remain calm as she spoke, but her voice still came out high pitched with excitement. "Are you asking me if I can collect the herbs for you, Doctor Jin?"

An audible sigh could be heard from the other side of the line, before Jin murmured a nonchalant, "Yes." He paused a moment when a series of muffled squealing erupted on Molly's side. Luckily, this subsided quickly. Jin proceeded to list off what he needed, and wasted no time in hanging up when he'd finished answering Molly's questions.  
Molly burst from the house, prancing around like a child who'd just met Santa Clause. Kathy and Renee stood outside now, and watched her with mild interest as Molly danced towards them. It didn't take long for Molly to explain in extreme and exaggerated detail what had happened. The two friends just rolled their eyes at each other, but their faces held amused smiles.

After a short chat, Molly's friends departed, leaving Molly to start her search for herbs.

Molly managed to start off well just by patrolling the edge of Kasey's farm. She found 2 patches of what she assumed to be what Jin had called "Green Herbs". They didn't seem to be quite grown well, but she remembered Jin mentioning they wouldn't be, and that that was fine. It was only Spring, and Summer herbs, especially in the wild, would be hard to come by and be fully grown for harvest.

The brunette decided to deem herself lucky she'd found so much, and she quickly gathered small handfuls of the newly-sprouted herbs up and placed them carefully into her rucksack. She took a breath of the fresh air triumphantly, before setting off in search of more herbs in other areas.

\--

Molly had been searching for hours with little to no luck after what she'd found on her brother's farm. But she wasn't giving up. Before the girl stood a tall forest, one that resembled that of a story book tale's setting. She remembered Kasey telling her of this area once.

He'd had to travel all over Castanet, just to find the key that unlocked the darned place! Molly giggled at the thought. Kasey had since had the door demolished, deciding it was unnecessary. The forest paths had been hacked clean in a joint effort between Kasey and a now mutual friend of the siblings, a man named Luke. Fugue Forest was safe for just about anyone.

Anyone who wasn't Molly, anyway.

Molly confidently strolled into the forest and began her search. The sky was becoming dark, but Molly took little notice, too involved in her task to care for the sky as it changed from day to night quickly.

The brunette managed to find several more of the needed herbs as she searched the forest, including a peculiar sparkling mushroom. Jin hadn't requested this particular fungus, but Molly had found herself captivated by its shine, and had pocketed it, praying to the Harvest Goddess that it would earn her a brownie point from Jin.

When Molly finally came to the realization that it was night time, she suddenly realized how tired she was. She sighed, ruffling around in her rucksack for something that would boost her energy for the return trip. It was then that she pulled out the sparkling mushroom.  
Without much thought, she snapped the stem in half, and popped it into her mouth. Anything that grew among herbs had to be safe enough to eat, right?

Wrong.

Molly stumbled in her tracks as the world around her began to spin, and she collapsed to the ground. "Goddess, help me!" She choked, trying to force up the herb as it tormented her. But she was unable to do much before she passed out.

\--

**Stranger's P.O.V.**

_Tp._

_Tp._

_Tp._

Gravel was crushed against black leather boots as a man made his way through the night-veiled forest area. He donned a silky purple cloak on top of his black turtleneck, cotton sweater. A rather intricate and complicated array of beaded necklaces hung around his neck. His pants were white and baggy.

His most peculiar feature were his eyes, two different colors – green and gold – two colors that contrasted greatly with the white mark below his golden eye, and his head of platinum-gray hair. Despite his silver locks, which were tied into a neat braid on the left side of his face, the man looked no older than twenty-five. He walked with confident steps through the forest. He seemed to know the area very well.

But he stopped dead when he spotted a shadow splayed out on the forest floor several feet away. He hesitated a moment, blinking at the shape to assure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. They most certainly weren't.

Slightly less comfortable now, the man moved timidly towards the body. It was a girl. He wore a ruffled orange outfit, and her brown hair was messy and ruffled from what looked to be a hard day's work. The man squatted down, nudging her hand. Her hand fell open, suddenly, and a mushroom rolled from her palm.

"A…fugue mushroom?" The man questioned, reaching out to grab the sparkling thing. "There's a…bite…Oh!" The man looked to the girl once more. Had she swallowed some of the plant? He sighed, and scooped her up carefully. He would take her to the clinic. Hopefully it was open this late at night. Luckily, as he'd studied the species of fungus for a long time, he knew that the fugue mushroom was no life-threatening danger.

But he was aware that it often caused dizzy spells, nausea, and hallucinations. Or in this stranger's case, it was too overwhelming, and made them pass out.

The man quietly made his way towards Harmonica Town. But as he crossed the farm territory, owned by an acquaintance of his, Kasey, he heard a shout come from up the path.  
"Yo! Wizard! Wait up!" The voice unmistakably belonged to Kasey the farmer himself. The man, deemed Wizard, turned on his heels to face the farmer, and was met with a loud gasp. "Ah! Molly? What happened?!" He shouted, springing forward to look down at his unconscious sister in the cloaked man's arms.

"She ate…a fugue mushroom…in Fugue Forest…" He murmured in an almost broken sounding sentence. "You…know her?"

Kasey nodded at the gray-haired man, reaching forward to take his sister from the man's arms. "Yeah. She's my sister. Err…the clinic's closed, Wizard. Do…do you know how to fix her?"

Wizard stared down at Kasey and this newly named Molly for a few moments, before nodding uncertainly. "I do…We can…go inside?" He murmured, hesitantly.

Kasey nodded, and led the way to his home, Wizard trailing behind.

\--

**Molly's P.O.V**

Molly blinked awake to the sound of a voice- no, two voices. One, the softer of the two, was being blocked out by the booming, familiar voice of Kasey.

"Yeah, thanks, man! We owe ya one." He was saying. Molly blinked her eyes open just in time to spot the retreating figure of a gray haired person she'd never seen exit through the front door. Who?

"Molly, you're awake! Goddess, do you know how worried I was? You're damn lucky this fella came along when he did!" Kasey scolded his sister, flicking her nose in a loving-yet-stern manner.

"Who…Who's…that?" Molly asked, rubbing her nose as she moved to sit up. She immediately flopped back to her previous position. "What happened? Why's my head feel so funny?" She asked, her words began to slur together, and before Kasey could answer her questions, Molly had fallen asleep once more.

Whatever treatment the stranger had given her, it was working to at least keep the girl under control.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Harvest Moon: Animal Parade in any shape, way, or form. Nor am I affiliated with Harvest Moon or Natsume in general. I'm but a lowly fan, and do not own any rights at all to anything in this work but the plot and writing itself.
> 
> This fanfiction was originally posted https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9712127/1/My-Only-Hope  
> But I decided to post it on this website, too. Both accounts, "TurkFish" belong to me!

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Harvest Moon: Animal Parade in any shape, way, or form. Nor am I affiliated with Harvest Moon or Natsume in general. I'm but a lowly fan, and do not own any rights at all to anything in this work but the plot and writing itself.
> 
> This fanfiction was originally posted https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9712127/1/My-Only-Hope  
> But I decided to post it on this website, too. Both accounts, "TurkFish" belong to me!


End file.
